The Constraint is the Key: How Great Orthodontic Practices Grow by Solving What's Blocking Them
In the world of orthodontics, growth is often mistaken for “doing more.” More patients, more starts. But real, sustainable growth isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters better. And that starts with understanding and addressing constraints.
What Is a Constraint?
A constraint is any bottleneck, friction point, inefficiency, or unmet need that restricts your practice’s ability to operate at its full potential. It can be internal (limited lab capacity, unclear systems, under-trained staff) or external (insurance slowdowns, vendor delays). At its core, a constraint limits flow—the smooth movement of patients through your process—and therefore caps your growth.
Great business leaders are laser focused on identifying constraints and unleashing all resources possible to alleviate those constraints.
In a high-performing practice, every system should serve patient care, team performance, and business health. A constraint blocks one or more of these, leading to missed opportunities, rising tension, and ultimately, stagnation.
“Constraints are not just obstacles—they are signals. They tell us where to pay attention, where our next breakthrough lies.”
Why Constraints Are In Conflict With Growth, Flow, and Culture
Unchecked, constraints don’t just slow things down—they undermine everything you’re trying to build.
Growth is stifled when the same problems eat up time and energy.
Flow is disrupted when patients or team members are bounced between unclear responsibilities.
Culture suffers as frustration sets in. People lose faith in the system, each other, or leadership.
Without intervention, even the best team starts to feel like it’s rowing in circles.
How Do You Find Constraints? Ask Your People.
No single person—especially the doctor—can see every issue. The front desk knows the pain points of scheduling. The clinical team feels the crunch in chair time. The lab knows where things get jammed. Your job isn’t to be the all-seeing eye. It’s to build systems that surface the truth.
This is where structured, repeatable communication loops become your most valuable tool.
The 3-Meeting Structure to Uncover and Address Constraints
To keep your finger on the pulse of your practice and consistently remove roadblocks, implement the following three-tier meeting strategy:
1. Daily Huddles (Team-Level Tactical Pulse)
Purpose: What’s working? What’s not?
Participants: Individual departments or teams (e.g., Clinical Team, Front Desk, Lab).
Example topics: Why did we have three wire poke appointments yesterday? Potential reasons?
End with an After-Action Review (AAR):
What was the intention?
What actually happened?
What went well?
What needs improvement?
2. Weekly Managers Meeting
Purpose: Gather leadership from key functional areas—Treatment Coordinators, Clinical Leads, Front Desk, and Lab—to discuss team observations, surface constraints, and align priorities.
Focus: What issues are recurring? What resources are needed? What’s the morale pulse in each group?
Outcome: Create a shared view of current bottlenecks and assign follow-up actions to resolve them.
3. Monthly All-Team Meeting
Purpose: Provide updates, celebrate wins, reinforce culture, and spotlight solved constraints and future initiatives.
Includes: Mini-training, recognition, team-wide updates, and a Q&A to encourage team feedback.
Outcome: Align the entire practice with the broader vision and engage everyone in the improvement process.
The Power of the After-Action Review
Growth-minded practices treat problems as data. Every meeting ends with an After-Action Review—a simple, repeatable framework to learn from what happened. This trains your team to think systemically, not emotionally.
Ask:
What was supposed to happen?
What actually happened?
Why was there a difference?
What will we do next time?
This structure reframes failure as feedback—and feedback as fuel for growth.
The Path Forward: Solve, Then Scale
If you want your orthodontic practice to thrive, don’t just ask, “How do we grow?” Ask, “What’s holding us back?”
Then involve your team in answering it.
The best orthodontic leaders aren’t the ones with all the answers—they’re the ones who build a culture of constant refinement.
They evolve, because they solve.
